The 15 Best Drinking Games You & Your Friends Need To Try

Try to get one thing straight – just drinking without games can be a lot of fun. There are thousands of bars all across the country wherein the only thing they serve is cold chicken wings, warm beer, and a place for people to come to just hang out at the end of a long day. With a couple of buddies, even the most terrible bar can turn into a bunch of fun with some alcohol going right down their throats.

However, as much fun as drinking at dive bars and with friends is, there is an element to drinking that takes it from fun to straight up memorable. Dive bars are great to keep people from being drunk at home alone, but they often lack the privacy and intimacy of drinking in one’s home or backyard. Hence, drinking games have come into existence to add that little extra spice that makes getting hammered even more fun with friends.

The best part about drinking games is that they are often incredibly simple. In fact, they have to be. For anyone that has drank 12-plus beers in the past, simple acts like taking off pants, driving, talking, or breathing become so, so much more difficult. Thus, drinking games often only require rudimentary rules, household objects, and of course, liquor. With the right combination, that holiday office party, beach party, house warming party, or just regular old Saturday night can turn into the most fantastic time ever.

So, write down the rules to this game before sipping on some cold ones and enjoy the 15 most awesome drinking games ever.

15.Quarters

via wikihow.com

Here is how it works: Quarters requires at least two players. It is typically done with two 8, 10, or 12 ounce glasses or cups of liquor or beer. Something with a wide enough lid where something the size of a quarter can fit in. Each player takes turns bouncing the quarter off of a table and into their drink. The person who actually does it wins and the loser has to drink. This game can be modified in any number of ways including forcing a person to have to hit a certain number of shots in a row or if a person misses a shot they have to drink their entire drink.

The best part about quarters is that actually using actual quarters is hardly necessary. Any kind of coin will do the trick with this game. So, cheapskates and broke people rejoice. Using those pennies in the couch cushions will do the trick. In the end, everybody wins if they get drunk.

14.Beer Pong

Here is how it works: most people have probably heard of the game ping-pong. What most people do not know is that ping-pong is actually an Olympic sport and has been since 1988. Of course, it is that kind of trivia that gets people beat up unless they are bringing the beer for everyone.

Anyway, usually there are two teams across a long table like a dinner table. One team (even if it is one person per team) will take a ping-pong ball, bounce it on the table, and try to get the rebound to land into one of the other team’s cups. The cups are lined up usually in a pyramid fashion, with one cup in the first row, two cups in the next row, three in the next row, and so on. If the ball does land in one of those cups, then that other team has to drink that beer. If it does not, then the other team gets a chance to try. The teams will go back and forth until everyone is seeing double and starting fights.

Fair warning, though, a ping-pong ball that is touching a table and then landing in a cup may pose a bit of a health hazard.

13.52 Pickup

Here is how it works: this is the game for the absolutely laziest and least creative drinkers. This game is for the guys who have spent way too much time playing other drinking games, guys that are stranded on a desert island, or dudes that make their own hooch in a prison cell. Regardless of the sad circumstances leading up to this game, it still does the trick if there is enough booze to go around.

Ultimately, this game requires a deck of standard playing cards and just a minimum of one person playing. They throw the cards up in the air and let them land on the ground. The player picks up the ones that are face down, looks at the number on it, and then take that many drinks from their beer or the liquor. Aces are wild. Jokers are wild. The face cards mean that a player has to down their entire drink.

For those sitting in a prison cell, this game may be the most memorable day on the inside.

12.Edward 40 Hands

via youtube.com

Here is how it works: remember that movie Edward Scissorhands starring Johnny Depp? It is a 1990s movie about a guy who…wait for it…had scissors for hands. Of course, after their initial shock, Edward becomes endeared to the people around him despite his horrible condition. It is a fantasy movie of the highest kind, but one that won Tim Burton and Depp critical acclaim. It even made millions at the box office because of the way that Depp played the lovable, albeit disfigured man.

Edward 40 Hands is a drinking game where “Edward” will certainly not be loved by the time he is done with his drinks. Basically, “Edward’s” so-called friends will duct tape two 40 ounce drinks to his hands, completely obliterating the ability for “Edward” to do anything except drink. When he is done, and only when he is done, will he be able to get the duct tape cut off. “Edward” may win awards for his acting, but it will most likely end up with him face down in the bathroom in his own puke.

11.Flip Cup

Here is how it works: as mentioned previously, most drinking games do not require a lot of skill. The games have to be so stupidly simple that even drunk asses can follow the games. Ever notice that people do not want to play trivial pursuit or do anything that requires memory or functioning when they are drinking? Imagine how terrible that would be. If a game is going to require any level of concentration, it had better be minimal.

This is where Flip Cup is so much fun. Even without a doctorate degree, most readers have probably been able to figure out that Flip Cup just involves flipping a cup. It requires at least two people to make the game any fun. So, what needs to happen is that a person can put a red, empty Solo cup upside down on a table, with about half of the cup’s opening peering over the ledge. The player will take one or two fingers and try to flip the cup right side up onto its bottom. If that person wins, the other person or people in the game have to drink. No real skill required.

10.Battleshot

via youtube.com

Here is how it works: one of the most memorable games for young kids is the game Battleship. For those who do not remember how the game is played, there are two players, each on one side of a game board with a big partition right through the middle of it. Each player will place their battleships like destroyers and aircraft carriers on a grid-like structure however they want. The grid is situated by numbers on the x-axis and letters on the y-axis. The player on the other side will yell out something like, “B-5,” and if a piece of someone’s battleship is on that part of the grid, it is like a missile hit it, trying to sink it.

Battleshot works the same way. Using whatever modified version of Battleship a person has, each time they have one of their ships take a hit, they have to take a shot. Just like regular Battleship, this game can get intensely personal and will likely end up with the loser crying, flipping the game board over, and declaring themselves the winner.

9.Backwards Words

via youtube.com

Here is how it works: police officers have a tough job. Not only do they have to catch dangerous criminals, it is often a thankless, public service job where their lives are in peril nearly every day. Just to add insult to injury, police officers also have to deal with dummies that decide to drink and then get behind the wheel of a car. Over the decades, police departments have developed very effective methods at determining whether people are drunk. One of those ways is having them recite the alphabet backwards. It is well known that doing this is very difficult, but doing this drunk is like trying to score on LeBron James.

This is where Backwards Words comes in. With two teams of however many people want to get wasted, the players will create a list of words that they need to spell backwards. It could be something simple like everyone’s last name or the name of their pet. Then, a timer will be set, usually about five to ten seconds, for the person to try to spell the word backwards. If they fail to do it, they take a drink. If they master this game, passing a roadside sobriety test will become a cinch.

8.Russian Roulette

Here is how it works: How is that the only game to come out of Russia that most people know is probably the most dangerous game known to man. Who thought of this particular game in the first place? Guns are dangerous enough, but to take a revolver, put one bullet in it, spin the cylinder around, and then take turns squeezing the trigger, praying that the bullet is not in that one hole is just foolish.

Thankfully, as terrible as Russian Roulette is, people can celebrate one of the good things that Russians have given the world: vodka! Vodka’s clear, water-like appearance makes it a great addition to Russian Roulette. Basically, two players will set up shot glasses across a table. A third player, usually a referee, will pour only one shot with vodka and the rest with water. Each player will take turns until one hits the vodka shot and then the game starts over again. Of course, it is only natural that vodka will kill you, but that is only eventually, not instantly like the other version.

7.Truth or Drink

via huffingtonpost.com

Here is how it works: Truth or Drink is a great game for people who are still trying to get to know each other. This is a game where if someone’s RA in their college dorm was cool, they would have all of the guys on the floor play this game with one another instead of the corny games they usually make the residents play. It helps shy people get out of their shell a bit and requires the freak shows to be honest about all of the freaky stuff they have done.

The game will basically start with a minimum of two players, but up to as many want to get drunk. One player will start and will ask the person to their left, “Truth or Drink: You have a crush on Shelby.” That person, if they have a massive, massive crush on Shelby, will probably drink. If not, they can be honest and say that Shelby looks like a horse. Ultimately, everybody wins because everybody will get twisted big time and learn about each other in the process.

6.Taboo

Here is how it works: Taboo is one of the coolest games out there. The reason it is one of the coolest games is because it does not require people to have to gather around one game board, a deck of cards, or a television like so many other games. Taboo just requires people to kind of clandestinely know the rules of the game, like a secret society initiation, and just follow the rules to get drunk.

Before the game starts, the host of the party or the game will write down a bunch of words or actions that are strictly “taboo.” This could be things like every time someone touches their nose at the party, they have to drink. It could also be that every time someone says the word, “Donald Trump,” the players have to take a drink. If the host is a giant jerk then they will say things like “and” and “the” are taboo as well, skyrocketing everyone’s blood alcohol level immediately.

5.Bite the Bag

via youtube.com

Here is how it works: Most drinking games do not require a lot of physical skill. Where physical skill, flexibility, or strength is required, alcohol is usually absent. Ever notice that athletes celebrate with champagne after the game and not before? Either way, some games that require some modicum of physical challenge can be all the more fun and all the more hilarious the drunker people get.

With Bite the Bag, people have to do exactly as the title implies: Bite the Bag. What happens is that the host of the game will find a paper bag of some kind. Kind of like one from a local grocery store and place it on the ground. Without using a person’s hands or feet, they have to bend all the way down and try to bite the bag with their teeth and bring it up. So, that dude who brags about lifting weights 24 hours a day will have a new challenge that will likely end up with him flat on his face trying to bite the bag.

4.I Never

Here is how it works: I Never is definitely one of those games where people will have either a hilarious time or be scared out of their minds about what people have done in their past. It is highly recommended that this game is not played with potential love interests, co-workers, or parents. If that is the case, the game will be over before it starts.

Anyway, for anyone that was not a nine-year-old girl at some point, I Never is a very simple game. A group of at least two or three people will sit around a room. One person will lead the discussion and say something like, “I never cheated on a test.” Whoever has never cheated on a test will take a drink from their cup. Those cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eaters will stay sober. As the game goes on, the questions will get more salacious.

As a warning, if someone says, “I never killed a man,” and Freddy from accounting does not take a sip, call the police immediately.

3.H-O-R-S-E (With Alcohol)

via livesaildie.com and wikipedia.com

Here is how it works: Even people who are terrible at basketball can remember the game H-O-R-S-E. For those who have never touched a basketball, here is a quick background. H-O-R-S-E is a game that is played between at least two people on a basketball court. One person with the ball will try to make a shot into the basket with some degree of difficulty to where the other player will not be able to hit it. If the person makes the shot, then the other player has to copy that shot exactly and hit it too. If not, they get a letter from the word horse and if they miss enough shots to spell out horse, they lose. Simple.

This already fun game can be taken up another notch entirely. Not only will the poor soul who misses a shot end up with a letter, but they will also end up with taking a drink. After one or two games they may have to change the name from H-O-R-S-E to D-R-U-N-K.

2.Baseball

via youtube.com

Here is how it works: Baseball is America’s pastime. Even though the game has been taken over in terms of popularity and talent by both the NBA and the NFL, most people can fondly remember their times at the ballpark, can recall their favorite baseball player as a kid, and may still catch a game of the local team every now and again. Of course, one of the other past times at a baseball game is getting sloppy drunk. This version of baseball will combine the best of both worlds.

Played with shot glasses or beer cups, one of the two teams in the game will line up the shot glasses or cups in a row on a table. The cups or glasses will go long ways, where each one is hiding behind the other. Using a ping-pong ball or quarter, one of the players will bounce it off the table and try to get it into one of the cups or glasses. If it lands in the cup closest to the player, it will be a “single” and that player has to down all the drinks behind it. The second cup is a double and the last two drinks have to be taken in. The third and fourth cups are pretty self explanatory.

So, the next time mom calls up and asks what’s happening, just tell her, “I’m playing baseball with my friends.”

1.If You Know What I Mean – Sexual Innuendos

Here is how it works: Across every continent in the world, men can take the most innocuous, innocent statements and turn them into sexual innuendos. For example, if a woman comes up and says, “Hi, I need my tail pipe cleaned,” right away his thoughts will turn to, “I’ll clean her tail pipe all right.” It is sad, but it just happens.

Now, a man’s natural perversions can be turned into a drinking game that is a ton of fun and challenging as well. With at least two teams, each person will try to make a sexual innuendo and then end the phrase with “If you know what I mean.” So, a person could say, “So I went to the store to grab some buns..if you know what I mean.” As soon as people run out of innuendos, that person has to drink. Bonus points if a person can make a creepy, leering stare at the other players.